A Transformed Heart

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

The evidence you trust God is your transformed heart. When you experience his profound love and the teachings of his son, you want to know everything about his will and his ways. You want to know and do his will day-to-day. If you don’t, you may not be right with God yet.  

Matthew 7:21-23 (TLB) 21 “Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven. 22 At the Judgment many will tell me, ‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil.’

3/22/2026

Beware

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Not everyone teaching about God is submitted to him.  Charisma or a compelling personality is not the test of a true teacher. God's character must be in them. A true teacher of God is not a perfect human being, but reflects God's ways in what they say and do.

Matthew 7:15-20 (TLB) 15 “Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. 16 You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. 17 Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. 18 A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can’t produce what is good. 19 So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. 20 Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced

3/15/2026

The Narrow Gate

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

If you enter and live life via the wide gate, you eventually dead-end. You will see the damage you have caused, including to yourself.  Then (not before), you will become curious about the narrow gate. This means you are ready to see things God’s way, not your way.  

Matthew 7:13-14 (TLB) 13 “Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. 14 But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.

3/8/2026

Do Unto Others

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

World-wide and in all religions, the Golden Rule is a shared ethos, but the emphasis on sacrificial, redemptive and forgiving love is distinctive to Jesus. This completeness of love and relationship to God, through Jesus, is unlike any other religion or philosophy. 

Matthew 7:12 (NIV) 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

3/1/2026

If Only You Will Knock

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

God is not distant. He is always right where you are. When you truly ask, seek or knock on his door, he answers. It is man who is imperfect and hard-hearted, not God. If that is your perception of God, consider this: He chooses you and is waiting to hear from you. 

Matthew 7:7-11 (TLB) 7 “Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open. 9 If a child asks his father for a loaf of bread, will he be given a stone instead? 10 If he asks for fish, will he be given a poisonous snake? Of course not! 11 And if you hard-hearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won’t your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?

2/22/2025

Pearls and Swine

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

When police try to intervene in a domestic physical fight, some victims are known to turn and attack them!  Attacker and victim become one. Not everyone is trustworthy or in their right mind. When acting in truth and holiness, not everyone will be your friend.

Matthew 7:6 (TLB) 6 “Don’t give holy things to depraved men. Don’t give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls and turn and attack you.

2/15/2026

A Critical Spirit

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Jumping on the faults or mistakes of others is a critical spirit.  If you go at people habitually, you may find others don't appreciate your “wisdom” and you will be right!  Jesus said to focus on eliminating your own shortcomings, as they may be worse than those you are criticizing. 

Matthew 7:1-5 (TLB) 1 “Don’t criticize, and then you won’t be criticized. 2 For others will treat you as you treat them. 3 And why worry about a speck in the eye of a brother when you have a board in your own? 4 Should you say, ‘Friend, let me help you get that speck out of your eye,’ when you can’t even see because of the board in your own? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the board. Then you can see to help your brother.

2/8/2026

Keep to One Day at a Time

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

“One day at a time” didn’t begin as a slogan in Alcoholic Anonymous. It is straight out of these verses. You can enjoy many aspects of life on this earth AND you can be free of self-destructiveness and worry. Cultivating a daily relationship with God is your part of the deal. 

Matthew 6:30-34 (TLB) 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you, O men of little faith? 31-32 “So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, 33 and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to. 34 “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.

2/1/2026

Even Solomon in all his Glory

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Fashion and color are linked with the colors and beauty of nature (including human nature) because nature is what inspires them.  Jesus wasn’t diminishing fashion. This was his reminder that - at source - God’s beautiful and direct creations are still the finest. 

Matthew 6:28-29 (TLB) 28 “And why worry about your clothes? Look at the field lilies! They don’t worry about theirs. 29 Yet King Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as they.

1/25/2026

All your Worries

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

It takes some instruction and practice to really trust God. “What if…..?” is a legitimate question. But when asking for God’s help and making decisions, you must become comfortable with BELIEVING God knows your need and will not forsake you. 

Matthew 6:27 (TLB) 27 Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?

1/18/2026

Consider the Birds

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

You are the pinnacle of God’s creation. He provides for all he created. Strive to bask in it and trust it as nature does.  Don't worry about things - food, drink and clothes. God placed you here and provides for your earthly needs as you have relationship with him and honor his ways.

Matthew 6:25-26 (TLB) 25 “So my counsel is: Don’t worry about things—food, drink, and clothes. For you already have life and a body—and they are far more important than what to eat and wear. 26 Look at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat—they don’t need to sow or reap or store up food—for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.

1/11/2026

The Lens of God

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Either you trust God and show it in your loyalties, or you trust other things more.  This verse says to view the things of this earth through the lens of the things of God. It simply won’t work if you put them on equal planes of importance. Trust God more than you trust anything else.

Matthew 6:24 (AMPC) 24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).

1/4/2026

Your Spiritual Perspective

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Spiritual perspective affects everything. If you are habitually or secretly involved with evil thoughts and desires (and God’s Word says everyone is to some extent), perspective follows suit.  Anyone who has come out of this darkness will confirm it is nowhere you ever want to be.

Matthew 6:23 (TLB) 23 But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!

12/21/2025

What You Give Your Attention To

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

What you give attention and focus to determines how spiritually healthy you are. A pure focus on God and his will for you produces a light and power to which nothing can compare. Losing this focus and flirting with evil thoughts and desires puts you on the road to deep spiritual darkness.

Matthew 6:22 (TLB) 22 “If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. 23 But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!

12/21/2025

What You Put Your Faith In

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount 

Your treasure (what you put your faith in) is what you receive now and forever.  This earth belongs to Satan. He creates or influences all criminality and human suffering. Jesus said this requires you to place your faith in God’s promises more than faith in anything or anyone else. 

Matthew 6:19-21 (TLB) 19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth where they can erode away or may be stolen. 20 Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value and are safe from thieves. 21 If your profits are in heaven, your heart will be there too.

12/14/2025

When you Fast, put on Festive Clothing

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Fasting has been practiced from time immemorial because, for a short time, you literally allow God to be your daily bread. Inviting God’s presence in this quiet, discrete manner can dramatically change your sense of who you are and your place in God’s order. 

Matthew 6:16-18 (TLB)  16 “And now about fasting. When you fast, declining your food for a spiritual purpose, don’t do it publicly, as the hypocrites do, who try to look wan and disheveled so people will feel sorry for them. Truly, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, put on festive clothing, 18 so that no one will suspect you are hungry, except your Father who knows every secret. And he will reward you.

12/7/2025

Forgiveness - Giving the Resolution of your Feelings to God

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

To forgive is to stop being angry or resentful toward another. God does this all the time for you! There is always reaction to an action - in law and in relationships - so accountability WILL occur. Forgiving means you give the resolution of your feelings to God. 

Matthew 6:14-15 (TLB) 14-15 Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you.

11/30/2025

Our Father Who Art in Heaven

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

This prayer opens with a honoring statement of fact: God is Father of all. His ways are above humans, so you ask to know his ways.  He promises to meet your basic needs.  He protects you from the enemy as you ask him to. He forgives you and places a caveat: You must forgive others also.   

Matthew 6:9-13 (TLB) 9 “Pray along these lines: ‘Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name. 10 We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food again today, as usual, 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13 Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. Amen.’

11/23/2025

Private Prayer and Public Prayer

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Private prayer is between you and God. Jesus cautions against repetitive prayers, for good reason. Some are comforting and this is good, but separate those from talking simply and honestly to God every day.  He knows your heart better than you do. 

Matthew 6:5-8 (TLB) 5 “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. Truly, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you. 7-8 “Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

11/16/2025

God Approved or only Man Approved?

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus did good deeds as a matter of course and quietly. His emphasis was on doing them. Character and generosity are their own reward. God rewards you for your kindness and good deeds.  Look for God’s approval, not “the public” or friends (who can turn on you in a second)!

Matthew 6:1-4 (TLB) 1 “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give a gift to a beggar, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you in all earnestness, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly—don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. 4 And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

11/9/2025